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Preview: Cincinnati Bearcats look to stay unbeaten, sink Cleveland State Vikings

keith jenkins, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

University of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Wes Miller said he enjoyed watching his team "taste winning" Monday night against Division II Chaminade. But Miller admitted following the Bearcats' 98-55 rout of the Silverswords that the level of play is only going to "increase" as Cincinnati continues its early-season appetizers before the heavy Maui Invitational entrée ahead of Thanksgiving.

Cincinnati will set the table Thursday night for its second serving of the season, a home bout against back-to-back Horizon League regular-season champion Cleveland State. The Vikings will take the court seeking a bounce-back performance after suffering a season-opening home loss Monday night to Notre Dame.

Not the Fighting Irish of South Bend, but the Falcons of Division II Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio.

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Cleveland State shot 45% from the floor (28-61) in the 72-68 loss but finished just 4-for-17 from 3-point range. The Vikings also struggled at the free-throw line, making eight of their 18 shots from the charity stripe.

Cleveland State trailed 32-31 at the half but surged back to take a 64-54 lead with six minutes left, only to stumble down the stretch.

The Vikings will be hungry Thursday night.

THE GAME

Tipoff: 8 p.m. on Thursday at Fifth Third Arena

TV/Radio: ESPN+/WLW-AM (700)

Series info: Cincinnati and Cleveland State are set to meet for the 13th time, with the Bearcats winning each of the previous 12 matchups. The Bearcats defeated the Vikings 81-62 in their last meeting on Dec. 21, 2017.

SCOUTING REPORT

Cleveland State (0-1)

Coach: Daniyal Robinson, first season (0-1)

Offense: 68 ppg

Defense: 72 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Drew Lowder (G, 6'1", 3 ppg)

Deshon Parker (G, 6'4", 11 apg)

Tae Williams (G, 6'7", 11 ppg)

Tristan Enaruna (F, 6'8", 20 ppg)

Deante Johnson (F, 6'9", 7 ppg)

Cincinnati (1-0)

Coach: Wes Miller, second season (19-15)

Offense: 98 ppg

Defense: 55 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6’3”, 13 ppg)

David DeJulius (G, 6’0", 24 ppg)

Landers Nolley II (G, 6’7”, 19 ppg)

Jeremiah Davenport (G, 6'7", 14 ppg)

Viktor Lakhin (F, 6’11”, 6 rpg)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Iowa State's Tristan Enaruna has entered the transfer portal.
Iowa State's Tristan Enaruna has entered the transfer portal.

Tristan Enaruna

Iowa State junior transfer Tristan Enaruna had a double-double in his first game with Cleveland State. Enaruna led the Vikings with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss against Notre Dame College. He also had two steals and Cleveland State's only block. Enaruna brings a wealth of experience to the Vikings program. He played 33 games, including 26 starts, for the Cyclones last season and scored a career-high 23 points against Baylor. Enaruna played two seasons at Kansas before transferring to Iowa State.

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Landers Nolley II (2) reacts after scoring during the first half of the basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Chaminade Silverswords on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Chaminade Silverswords 98-55.
Cincinnati Bearcats guard Landers Nolley II (2) reacts after scoring during the first half of the basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Chaminade Silverswords on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Chaminade Silverswords 98-55.

Landers Nolley II

Like Enaruna, Landers Nolley II is playing for his third college team. The Virginia Tech and Memphis senior transfer scored 19 points in 26 minutes in his Cincinnati debut Monday night. He also had four rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Nolley gives the Bearcats more firepower on the offensive end and more length on the wing on defense.

"He's so gifted," Miller said. "But we knew that. Everybody knew that. If you go back and watch his freshman year at Virginia Tech or his first year at Memphis and even at times last year at Memphis, you can see the talent and his ability to score the ball. I think what has blown me away with Chez (Landers' nickname) is early on you can see he's better with the ball in his hands than I think people have ever realized.

"He still has a ways to go, but he's getting better at this crazy rate. Whether it's his decision-making in the open floor, his decision-making when he's penetrating and decking it off the bounce and attacking a closeout, or his decision-making in a ball screen. I think that's going to be important to our team as the year goes on. But he's improving with the ball in his hands at a really high rate. And then over the last two and a half weeks, he's really started defending at a much higher level. I'm really proud of that. He just can't stop. I'll make sure I stay on his butt. I've coached him pretty hard."

KEY TO THE GAME

Pack the paint

Cleveland State lost to Division II Notre Dame (Ohio) largely because the Vikings couldn't shoot. They struggled from deep and struggled from the foul line. Cincinnati should take away any and all driving lanes and force the Vikings to shoot until they prove they can knock down some shots.

RANKINGS

KenPom.com: Cleveland State (271); Cincinnati (51)

RPI: Cleveland State (170); Cincinnati (220)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati basketball: Bearcats to host Cleveland State Vikings